Type O Negative, the “four dicks from Brooklyn”, has not gone limp--despite a little blood loss here and there over the years. Dead Again, the new studio release, is by far the most accessible Type O Negative record to date…hold on--I told you they’ve not gone soft, and haven’t gone for mainstream appeal, at least not intentionally. It just seems that Dead Again has more soul and personal touch from each guy in the band than on previous records. Though they love their legions of fans, Pete, Josh, Kenny, and Johnny have never really given one fuck about making a hit, but since their start they’ve been pumping out infectious music-making songs that can be both scary and/or funny. The new material is as defining as Bloody Kisses, yet the band flaunts something different in its musicianship on this effort than in previous works. Singer Peter Steele reveals a piece of his soul that is dare I say, serious? It seems the tall, dark, and gruesome one taps into a new realm of vocal delivery in the upper register, too.

In “September Sun” Josh Silver really shows his wares, dressing up the intro song with a haunting piano and a very Jon Lord-ish keyboard vibe. Meanwhile Steele croons and screams, and in a short display of vulnerability throws his bleeding heart onto the butcher block. This is going to be their “Rain Song” or even better, “Let it Be.” After all, they are The Drab Four, right?

“Halloween in Heaven”, a tribute to dead rock and rollers, begins as a crushing, fast-tempo pit starter, and features the seductive vocals of Tara Vanflower of the darkwave act Lycia.

In “These Three Things”, the quintessential Type O Negative song on the record (at least instrumentally), guitarist Kenny Hickey and drummer Johnny Kelly really shine, while Steele sings a very prophetic message, and evidently it’s something he’s emotionally…maybe spiritually invested into. There is a very well placed nah-nah-nah-nana-nah-nah Hickey sliding riff snagged from “Hey Jude” toward the end. It figures.

Dead Again is a loud, throbbing, rip-your-scabs-off record. It has an invasive quality that goes into your ear and enters your bloodstream like an anti-coagulant, and is a preventative for the sluggish and stopped up. Type O Negative suck better than they ever did.

* * * * ½

Track List

Dead Again

Tripping a Blind Man

The Profits of Doom

September Sun

Halloween in Heaven

These Three Things

She Burned Me Down

Some Stupid Tomorrow

An Ode to Locksmiths

Hail and Farewell to Britain

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